


Two Less Lonely People

by BlackCrow1886



Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Angst, Anorexia, Bottom Newt, Cuddling, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, Elements of Self Harm, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gentle Sex, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Heavy Angst, Implied genderfluid newt, M/M, Prequel, Protective Alby, Protectiveness, Rough Sex, Self Confidence Issues, Self healing, Self-Harm, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Song Companion, Song fic, Top Alby, Unstable Newt, Virgin Alby, Virgin Newt, genderfluid!newt, nalby - Freeform, pre-TMR, trigger warning: suicide attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2018-02-21 17:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2477123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCrow1886/pseuds/BlackCrow1886
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There had to have been a first person in the Glade. That person was Alby. But what happens when Newt shows up after Alby has figured out how to survive on his own? Can Alby keep up with and/or protect this self-destructive boy, and can Newt find solace in the arms of the dark skinned hero who pulled him from the Box?</p><p>Song Companion in Notes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Less Lonely People

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains a song companion. At the beginning of each chapter, I'll give you a song I suggest you listen to while reading the fic, and at the end I'll tell you the part of the chapter it goes with to avoid spoilers. You don't have to, it's mainly the songs that inspired me, the songs I listened to while writing, and what I imagine the soundtrack to this would be. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Chapter 1: "I've Been Alone Too Long" - SOKO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt emerges from the Box to find Alby, the only other boy in the Maze.

The clanging of the Box surrounded him, and his eyes struggled to adjust to his surroundings rapidly. The moment he awoke, he was alert, on his feet in a heartbeat. He could feel himself rising slowly, little breaks of light shining in between slits in the metal wall. _An elevator_ , he realized. Three sides of the space he was trapped in were solid metal, with cracks like they were decaying, the one that was left stood directly behind him and looked like a chain-link fence, broken in one place, and rusty.

He took a step backwards and backed into it, scraping his shoulder on the sharp protruding metal. He hissed at the pain of it, slight but stinging, and closed his eyes tightly. Upon opening them again, he could see more clearly than before. The light shining through the cracks was getting brighter, less like artificial light and more like natural sun. He waited for the elevator to come to a stop, but it didn't for a long time. Soon the reality of his situation hit him and he started panicking.

The walls were moving in closer, making him feel claustrophobic, his breathing getting heavier. He started hitting the walls with his fist all around and screaming for help. Someone, anyone, get him out! But there came no answer. Soon his hand was bleeding where it scraped a rough piece of metal and pierced the skin, surely he'd been there for hours. Then it all stopped. A loud scraping, then bright light filled the small compartment, forcing his eyes shut and his arms to come up, shielding his face. A shadow stood over him.

 

* * *

 

Alby heard the siren go off, just a high pitched wail throughout the Glade. He wasn't even sure what it had been until he heard the all too familiar scraping of metal on metal: the Box doors opening. He was there in seconds, standing over the opening with a curious eye. It was filled with boxes and crates, all pushed against one side, and a quivering boy curled on the floor in the middle. Alby felt shock pierce him like a knife, letting the bloodflow of satisfaction and relief drip freely from him. He thought he was going to be the only one. When he woke up in the box, alone, and was put here in this place, he thought it was a punishment for something he couldn't even remember doing.

This boy had probably done about the same as him; screamed until his voice ran out, hit the walls with his fists (and by the state of his hand, he'd done that a while), and then just gave up, curling into a protective ball in the middle of the floor. But the moment the sunlight hit him, this boy sat up, alert, and hands at the ready to fight. Surely, a reflex. Alby cocked his head and inspected the boy's thin frame and messy blonde hair. He looked about fifteen, a year younger than Alby estimated himself to be.

"You okay, down there?" He projected his voice so the new kid could hear him.

The kid's only answer was to lower his arms and squint at him. Alby took this as a good sign and knelt down, extending his arm into the box and offering it as a way out. Blondie grabbed his forearm, hoisting himself up without warning. Turns out he was more eager than Alby thought to escape the metal prison, which was the only thing they had in common for the moment. The kid was lighter than he looked, which was surprising to the dark skinned boy who was helping him to his feet.

"Do you remember anything?" He asked the boy, who was wrapping his slender arms around himself and glancing around with a frightened glint in his brown eyes, which appeared to be the color of honey in the brilliant sunlight. "Your name?"

He shook his head rapidly. "No," he said, in a thick accent. "I can't remember anything."

Same as him then, Alby observed. The only memories he had were the ones he'd created and his own name, which had come to him after two days of pacing and working. He offered his hand again, not exactly sure why. "I'm Alby. Welcome to the Glade."

 

* * *

 

The Glade? He looked around, not bothering with the hand offered to him, and took in his surroundings. A glade. That's what it appeared to be, a large expanse of grassy field and a stone courtyard, a forest to one side and a little house to the other. He noticed the slapdash way it'd been put together, then reminded himself, this boy, Alby, must've built it. He looked back at the boy who'd greeted him, taking in his stature. He was slightly shorter than him, but their differences didn't end there. To his own pale complexion, Alby's was dark, as were his eyes. His hair was short and uniform, clothes tight around his muscular arms and baggy around his torso, which was strongly built, but still small compared to the rest of him. His legs were the same as his upper half, muscular like an ox's.

He just stared at the boy in front of him, before turning and walking away, hands reaching up to thread fingers through his own hair. His head ached. He couldn't remember a damn thing, nothing, and it was driving him mad up a wall. His own name is what bothered him the most, not even knowing who he was was frustrating enough with all the bits of broken information flying around in his skull.

He could picture cities, things outside what he could only imagine to be this prison, places on maps and houses but none of them were familiar to him. He could match names to foods and tastes to them, but no faces or people. Soon he was having a full-on, self-inflicted panic attack and was pacing around the courtyard several yards away from the boy, tears lightly streaming down his face. He was mumbling something, probably a string of curses, and didn't realize how loud he'd gotten, or that his eyes were even closed, until a hand was placed on his shoulder and someone spun him around. He opened his eyes to see Alby directly in front of him,

"Hey, calm down." He said in a consoling tone. "Everything's gonna be fine. I know you're scared, but really, this is normal. At least...it was for me."

He didn't know why this brought him comfort, but at least to know somebody's else had gone through this was enough. Just the knowledge that somebody else was stuck here too, in the same situation as him, made it slightly more bearable. He nodded, and didn't know why he had. Alby's hand lowered from his shoulder. "It's about noon," He began. "Maybe a little after. I'm gonna get the crates out of the Box, and I want you to look around and calm down, okay?"

He didn't respond to that, but watched as Alby jumped into the box and started hoisting things up. It was a mystery to him of what he did next. Lowering himself bck into the box with a _clonk_ and a _clank_ of metal, he started helping with the boxes. He could've sworn he saw Alby grin. It was something to keep him occupied at least, to keep his mind from wandering to thoughts he didn't have and couldn't retrieve. They carried the boxes to a small building next to the main house, which looked to be a dining hall to Newt. It had a few miscellaneous tables and chairs. Alby took the boxes he had to a corner which housed them all; Newt did the same.

Counseling him to sit, which he did, Alby soon came back with an apple and some bread, supplies that were contained in the boxes. "Here, eat." Newt didn't do as he was told right away, but started to slowly pick at the bread and chewed the apple slowly, like he couldn't remember the last time he'd had one -- then he remembered that he didn't.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day consisted of Alby showing Newt what he'd set up for means of life. There was a small garden that had some feigning crops, which Newt volunteered to help with, and the house had a few rooms and a bed in it. Alby explained that when he'd gotten there, there had been nothing more than the supplies in the Box, and the foundation for the two makeshift buildings. He also told Newt about the Maze. Apparently there was one out there, and the doors opened and closed every day and night around the same time. And there we creatures out there, big nasty creatures bigger than anything. Alby had never seen one, but swore you could hear them at night.

Newt couldn't stop staring at the doors after that, the opening in between each mile high stone wall boxing them into this space. He was still glancing back and forth to them when night fell in his first day, sitting by a small fire that Alby had built. It was there he discovered his life might actually have changed for the better.

 

* * *

 

 

Alby glanced over at the boy, who still hadn't remembered his name, and held his hands out to the fire to warm them. Not that it was actually cold, it never was here. It was like the temperature was stuck, always warm during the day, and pleasantly cool at night. The firelight gleamed off his light brown eyes, making them seem darker than they were. Dark, but somewhat pretty, he noticed. He shrugged off his own thoughts. He hadn't seen another human being in little over a month, and couldn't remember faces from before anyway. This boy was the first face he'd seen...technically.

"Still nothing?" He broke the tense silence between them and the boy nodded. Alby sighed, pretending he hadn't noticed the tears that were falling down the other's cheek and onto his pant leg. "It'll come back to you." He promised. "Some things."

His response was another simple nod. Alby clapped a hand on his shoulder and led the newbie to the Homestead, explaining how he'd take the room across the makeshift shelter house, so he could have the bed. A mumbled, shy thank you was issued and they parted ways for the night. And while the other might be scared and hesitant, Alby was happy. He wasn't alone, and he had a feeling he was gonna like this kid.

**Author's Note:**

> Song Explanation: Alby has been alone in the Glade for a month, which to him seems too long. The title is what caught my eye and reasoned me to listen to it while scrolling through my music for this companion. The line "I thought I saw your face at the end of the alley, it was dark but somewhat pretty, just like everything I see" reminded me of the bonfire scene in the film where Alby glances over at Newt. They do this in the chapter above, and I thought that verse would be along the lines of what Alby was thinking. Instead of a literal alley, a metaphorical one as in his time alone in the Glade. The sun set during the bonfire they held, and Alby noticed the shine in Newt's eyes: dark but somewhat pretty. "And you were there glowing (...) I swear I saw an angel, but I was too weak to move closer (...) so come to me angel and I swear I'll make a move..."


End file.
